Frequently Asked Questions
Where Is Your Office Located?
Currently I conduct therapy work through virtual or video (also known as telehealth) sessions. Over the past several years scientific studies, and therapists and clients worldwide including the United States of America, have attested to the effectiveness of the therapy approaches that I use when the same are delivered through telehealth. In other words, telehealth sessions can have the same treatment effect as in-person sessions.
How Does Payment for Therapy Work?
You may choose to not use your insurance to pay for services, as this provides certain advantages over using it. I can go over the details with you.
For example, insurance companies have several people looking at your information throughout your sessions: those who authorize payment, those who input data, others track your progress, print bills, others decide (without even meeting you personally) what services are authorized and what are not, and so on.
Not involving your insurance company means that your very personal information remains private and that I – the person who has met you and is directly working with you – get to decide which services are the most beneficial to you.
By using your health insurance, you are agreeing for people — who have never met you personally – to make decisions about your very own and personal treatment. Insurance companies also require a psychiatric diagnosis and can randomly stop paying for sessions due to a variety of reasons.
Despite What You Stated Above, Can I Still Use My Insurance to Pay for Therapy?
Currently, I accept the following health insurances: Ambetter, Cigna, Humana, MultiPlan, Optum, Oscar, United HealthCare, and UMR. If you choose to use any of them to pay for services, then you would be subject to their “rules,” which typically include deductible, co-payment, and co-insurance amounts. I can check insurance benefits and submit claims on your behalf.
Whether or not you decide to use insurance to pay for services, payment is due in advance or at the time of services.
What if You Do Not Accept My Insurance?
If you contact your insurance company directly, first ask the company whether your plan allows you to see “out-of-network” providers for outpatient mental health and/or substance abuse therapy or counseling. If not allowed, then ask whether they make exceptions to this and how to go about obtaining approval.
If your insurance allows you to see “out-of-network” providers, then your insurance may reimburse you for part of the cost of services (usually a percentage of the cost). In that case, I can give you the statements – often called a Superbill – which you will then need to use to file an “out-of-network” reimbursement claim with your insurance.
What Else Should I Know from My Insurance Company?
What Types of Payments Do You Accept?
What Are Your Appointment Hours?
How Long Are Your Sessions?
How Long Does Therapy Last?
How Do I Set Up an Initial Appointment?
If you call and I am unable to answer, there is a chance that I am busy attending to other clients. In that case, feel free to record a voice message for me. The voice messages are strictly confidential, and I am the only person who has access to them, so don’t be shy.
To contact me via email, you may also visit the Contact page on this website. There you can create the message to be sent to me.
What Age Ranges Do You Work With?
Do You Work With Males? Females? Families? Couples?
Are You LGBT friendly?
We all deserve equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation. As a member of a ethnic and sexual minority group myself, I certainly understand and can relate to the challenges of minority groups.
What Do You Actually Do in Session With Clients?
Do You Assign Homework to Work on Between Sessions?
What Therapy Approaches Do You Use in Working with Clients?
What Is Your Professional Training and Experience?
What Else Do I Need to Know to Make the Most Out of Working with You?
What Are You Like?
My partner and other people have said that I am sincere, humorous, imaginative, inventive, open-minded, clever, and passionate. I also keep my promises. I love sunny weather, nature, sports, music, movies, and traveling. My interests are not limited to this: I am confident that we can find something in common!
Do You Work with People of all Faiths (or lack thereof)?
Do You Talk About Politics in Counseling Sessions?
If I Go to Therapy, Does It Mean That I Am “Crazy?”
If I Go to Therapy, Will You Tell Me How to Live My Life?
I can help you uncover the answers that already lie within yourself in terms of how to live your life according to your own values, interests, personal goals, and so forth; this is much different from telling you how to live your life.
Furthermore, while I can help you solve your current life’s challenges, I will not solve them for you. Think of the proverb: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” I teach men, women, and adolescents to fish so that they may feed themselves, hopefully for a lifetime.